One ticket plan for buses and trains

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Travelling across the Wellington region could be made a lot easier with the introduction of a one-ticket system for all public transport, but it will cost $39 million to implement.

The proposal for an integrated public transport ticketing system has been mooted as part of Greater Wellington regional council's draft 10-year plan, which sets out the services the council intends to fund from 2012-22.

If approved, integrated ticketing for Wellington's trains, buses, ferries and possibly the cable car could be introduced by 2016.

Investigations would begin over the next two years, focusing on how to introduce the system at transport hubs such as Wellington Railway Station.

Council chairwoman Fran Wilde said the integrated ticketing could be modelled after international systems such as Singapore's Octopus travel card, or London's Oyster system, but would need to suit the Wellington region.

"The public has told us time and time again that they want this, but it is a big- ticket item. In the first year we are looking at an investigation of it and may be able to take some capital costs out, but it is not cheap.

"People need to understand what this means in terms of value, how it works, and what it costs."

The $39m project would be funded through targeted rates, from the National Land Transport Fund, and public transport fares.

The long-term plan also set out an average rates increase of 5.7 per cent for the 2012-13 year, or around $25 for the average ratepayer.

The increase was split between covering existing services, continuing projects such as the rail-network upgrade, and the proposed service improvements.

Commitments to rail-network upgrades and flood protection to main rivers made up 2.5 per cent of the proposed increase.

As well as integrated ticketing, the plan proposed expanded pest-control programmes, regional park improvements and a $10m upgrade to the council's Wakefield St premises.

Ensuring the public approved of the proposed projects would be crucial to getting funding levels right, Ms Wilde said.